Bytes and Zeitgeist: Digitizing the Cultural Landscape

Criticism always asks, “Why does this representation take this form?,” and the answer is always a palindrome that can be read from art to artist and back. So what do we see when we look into a culture that is increasingly interactive, visual, encyclopedic, linked, and therefore open-ended and open to reorganization by its users? Primarily, the digital transformation of culture reflects the way we think—even as it mirrors what we see—just as dominant cultural forms have always done throughout history.